Mr Sunshine
by lucklesslady
Summary: The story of how Shaun Hastings got involved with the Assassins. One-shot   Inspired by this picture:   BlastedKing, I hope you like it.   I have no idea where in England Oxford is.


Shaun and his friends walked out of school towards their cars or their own routes home.

"So, Shaun, where'd you get the shirt, the smart ass store?" Luke tugged on Shaun's shirt and everyone laughed.

"What's the matter with my shirt?" Shaun looked at the lettering.

"C'mon, it says 'Mr. Sunshine'. Since when are you so cheery?" Drake teased Shaun.

Dana, Luke's girlfriend said too loudly, "Ever since he lost his virginity to that girl! What's her name again?"

Shaun's face was completely red, "Rebecca."

"Who would've thought Drake would be the last one?" Luke punched Drake, and Drake hit him back twice as hard.

"So when do we get to meet this mystery lady?" Dana asked pinching Shaun's cheek. Shaun quickly brushed her away, sneering.

"Don't let him fool you," Luke said to Dana, "She's a slag. Shaun needs some more hours at the café before he can afford her again!"

"Oi!" Shaun shouted, "She is not like that. Not at all."

"Easy, mate," Drake laughed, "We're just messing with you."

"Oh, by the way," Shaun added, "I'm not going to the movies tonight."

Dana sighed, "Bailing on us again?"

Shaun rolled his eyes, "Because what I need in my life is another argument about which movie we should watch."

Everyone laughed, but Shaun was dead serious.

"Whatever, just give us all the horny details," Drake tormented. Shaun pretended he didn't know what Drake was talking about, and got into his car.

Shaun went straight home to get ready to see Rebecca. They had met half-a-dozen times before, but still, every time he was nervous to see her. She was easy-going and sweet, while he was always tense and unsure. She never stopped teasing his with double entendres that could mean she liked him or liked something they were talking about.

Truth be told, he and Rebecca had never had sex; his friends just made up that rumor. He didn't even have the nerve to tell her he had a crush on her. Of course, Rebecca knew he did, Shaun just couldn't bring himself to actually tell her.

Rebecca had bought him the "Mr. Sunshine" shirt presumably as a joke, but he wore it anyways. It was a gray shirt with yellow letters that happened to be very comfortable.

"Now for the hair…" he muttered. He had done it last time he hung out with Rebecca, but he wasn't sure if he could replicate the success.

"Shaun!" he jumped, "I'm home. When is your friend coming over?"

"At four, mum," he replied, "Like I told you this morning."

"Okay, I'm making tacos."

The gel had dried, and Shaun was pretty sure his hair was asymmetrical, which bothered the piss out of him. He could bet any money that Rebecca would say something about it.

As he came down the stairs, he glanced at the clock. It was three thirty, and he was already nervous.

"So, Rebecca is from the States?" his mum asked sweetly.

"Yes, mum, we've been over this," Shaun sighed.

"Well where in the States is she from?"

Shaun was seriously contemplating telling his mother off, "I don't know. She hasn't said much about that."

"Well, what are her parents' names?"

"I don't know."

"Why is she is England?"

"I don't know, mum."

"Well does she have any siblings?"

"Mum, we've been over this before. I don't know. She doesn't like talking about that kind of stuff. If I learn anything, I'll be sure to let you know immediately."

"Don't get smart with me."

There was a knock at the door. Shaun ran to the door, gleefully making a mental note that Rebecca came early.

"Hello!" he greeted her over-enthusiastically.

"You're asymmetrical," Rebecca said immediately.

"Oh, no 'Hello'? No 'Nice to see you'?" sarcastic comments were Shaun's way of flirting, and he wished he could stop himself from doing that.

"Nope! Hello Miss Hastings!" Rebecca called out, walking past Shaun. She was carrying a green tattered messenger bag full of whatever random things she wanted to show him.

"Hello, dear," and she went back to chopping up lettuce.

"We're going up to my room now," Shaun called out.

"Leave the door open!" she shouted.

"Yes mother…" Shaun was very grateful she even let Rebecca and him out of her sight. She was so conservative about sex, even though she was a single mother.

Shaun raced up the steps, Rebecca following closely. Shaun was certain she was wearing a perfume of some sort. This also made Shaun a little giddy, that a girl wore perfume for _him._

Rebecca plopped down in her usual spot on his floor. Shaun almost shut the door before remembering his mother's warning.

"So, what's up?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

"Not much. School and all that," Shaun replied, "I like your hair."

Rebecca played with her newly layered hair, "I was hoping you would like it," she glanced at Shaun, and he knew she was checking for his response. Shaun didn't want to look like a fool in front of her, blushing and twiddling his thumbs, so he quickly got up and went to his desk.

"I got an article published on a little blog," Shaun said sort of awkwardly. He handed her the printed out sheets.

"Oh, so this is the article you've been sending out everywhere?" Rebecca inquired, and then skimmed the article.

Shaun was pretty impressed with himself. This paper could have been his doctorate paper, he put such care into exposing the secrets of Abstergo. He had never put that much thought into being a reporter, but he could do it. All of the research, the hours spent going through old files and skimming antique books were going to pay off.

"This sucks," Rebecca said shortly. Shaun snapped to attention and checked her expression for sarcasm. She looked at him quite listlessly.

She repeated herself, "This sucks. This absolutely is the worst thing I've read. I cannot believe a website published it. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are so much better than this conspiracy theory garbage."

It took Shaun a minute to collect himself, "Well better to hear it from you than someone else."

It was a complete lie. If it had been anyone but her, he could have brushed it off, but it was her. He wanted her, above all people, to like it.

"Enough of this," Rebecca threw the paper in the trash, and Shaun hung his head. She wasn't able to restart the conversation.

Shaun took a deep breath, "I just thought I had proof that Abstergo was up to no good."

"Well, you don't," Rebecca said shortly.

There was more silence. Shaun could feel his absolute reverence for Rebecca turn into annoyance and anger. Shaun looked at the carpet. Rebecca looked at ceiling.

"So… Who are you staying with?" Shaun asked.

"Family," Rebecca had a look of contempt on her face.

"Dinner!"

Shaun was so glad tacos were quick to make.

Rebecca and Shaun sat on opposite sides of the table, and didn't look at each other. His mom tried to make small talk, but neither of them took the bait. When she cleared the plates, Rebecca stood up.

"I should go," she stated.

"I'll get your things," Shaun felt defeated. He trudged upstairs, wishing that the night had turned out differently. Rebecca followed after him.

"It's for the best," Rebecca muttered.

"I guess so," Shaun couldn't even bring himself to look her in the eye. Now he was feeling guilty because he had let his pride about the paper hurt her.

"I'm not coming back," she said.

Shaun looked up, desperation suddenly filling him, "You have to come back!"

"Shaun," Rebecca moved closer and touched his arm, "there are things going on that you don't even understand. I hope you never understand them."

"No! Rebecca! You can't," Shaun grabbed her arms, "Please…"

"This is beyond you," she said looking upset. She didn't try to break from his grip, but instead placed on of her hands on Shaun's. Shaun let go, but Rebecca still didn't leave.

"Tell me what's going on. Is it why you're so secretive about your life?"

Rebecca started to walk away. Shaun followed her.

"Please. Forget I asked," he pleaded desperately and he went down the stairs, "I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

They were now in the kitchen. Rebecca stopped and turned around.

"You don't get it, Shaun!" she shouted, "I've already put you in harm's way!"

"How?" Shaun yelled back.

"I can't tell you!"

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you!" she stormed out of the house, slamming the door.

Shaun wanted to cry, but he just couldn't. His mother came in and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him, but he was in a daze. The next day, all of his friends consoled him on the "break-up", which only reminded him of how he failed to tell her how he felt.

Luke added, "Why don't we go out tonight?"

Shaun shook his head.

Dana smiled as she spoke, "Give 'im a day. It'll work out."

Shaun spent the next few days endlessly researching to improve his paper. He wanted to prove all of his speculations as facts, and show Rebecca that it wasn't just a conspiracy theory. Then he'd get it published, and that would show her. He'd be the hero of the world, exposing such a giant cover-up.

In reality, he knew he was just throwing himself in his work to forget about her.

"Shaun, honey," his mother cooed, "You've been looking at that thing for a long time."

"Mum!" Shaun hissed, totally focused on the pictures and string on the corkboard, "I'm trying to think!"

"You got a letter from Oxford!"

"Did I stutter when I said I was busy?"

"Shaun Anthony Hastings!"

Shaun sat up straight, not daring pushing his luck. She handed him the letter, and he quickly opened it.

"I've been accepted," he said dryly. He set the letter on the table and went back to his corkboard.

"Shaun…" she sighed. Shaun looked up again, hoping she was going to walk away, but she was pulling up a chair.

"Yes?" Shaun was trying not to be a prick to his own mother, but he wanted to be left alone.

"You've been acting differently, Shaun," Shaun waited for her to go on, "I know it's hard to deal with your first break-up-"

"No!" Shaun shouted, now unable to contain his rage and annoyance, "Where did everyone get that idea? That's just the problem. She's _wasn't_ my girlfriend. I never had the balls to tell her how I felt." Shaun was sure he was going to get his head beat in for saying "balls" in front of his mother.

She just shook her head and said calmly, "Shaun, you have to let it go. There are other fish in the sea."

"Okay," Shaun didn't want to talk anymore. She waited for him to say something, but after a long silence, she got up and walked away.

Months later, he was officially going to attend Oxford and was getting his books. Skimming the pages of a history book, he scoffed at the obvious lies within the texts. That only reminded him of his broken heart, because that was how he met Rebecca.

"Look at you," she said playfully, "Critiquing the history books for truth."

Shaun looked at the girl who was half-leaning on a shelf of books in the library, and decided not to make a smart comeback, "Well, you know the old adage: you can't believe everything you read."

"But could you ever find the truth?" she asked playfully, picking a book off the shelf and idly flipping through the pages. She looked at him quickly, and then went back to the book.

"Only if you could see it yourself," Shaun replied, "So what's your name?"

"Rebecca," he could have sworn her cheeks were turning pink, "What's yours?"

"Shaun," he nearly stuttered, "Shaun Hastings."

"Interested in history, I take it?" Rebecca asked.

Shaun bit back another harsh reply, "I plan to major in it."

She paused, and then said, "We should hang out sometime."

"Yeah!" Shaun replied too quickly. His first thought was how he couldn't wait to tell all his friends about her. He had finally talked to a girl, and a pretty one at that.

"Can I help you?" a nasally voice interrupted Shaun's daydream.

"Yes, by letting me pick out my books in peace," he snapped. The bookstore owner gave Shaun a nasty look and walked away. Shaun paid for his books and quickly walked out. He wondered how he and his mom were going to pay for four-years at Oxford. Almost four months of his café paychecks had just gone into books.

The café was where he was going. He was already dressed in the stupid uniform, which earned him strange looks. I was just a white dress shirt, black pants, and an apron, but he might as well have been wearing a clown suit, the way people looked at him.

He drove there, unable to get Rebecca off of his mind. He had been thinking about it, and he was starting to think she might have been homeless, in a gang, or both. She never wanted to talk about parents, or where she got things, or why she was there. He had been insensitive to that possibility.

The café wasn't too far away, and Shaun parked behind it and quickly went in through the back entrance.

"'Ello!" Lou called out. She owned the place, and never took a day off, which was made more impressive by the fact that she was almost sixty.

"Hello, how are you today?" Shaun asked, as was customary.

Lou never just replied "fine" like everyone else; she detailed her whole day to anyone who asked. She had one of those thick Cockney accents too, which made it difficult to decipher what she was talking about.

"Sounds good," Shaun said once he was certain she was done talking.

Today was a slow day, so Shaun didn't mind talking to the customers about the weather, and why the café didn't have some obscure tea from some equally obscure country.

As he went back to make some espresso for some customers, Lou approached him.

"Shaun dear," she started.

"Yes ma'am?"

"There's a girl in the corner. She 'as 'er 'ood up. I think you should take 'er tea, and tell 'er to take 'er 'ood down," Lou already had the tea made. Lou got robbed once and was now paranoid of every kid with their hood up.

Shaun took the espresso to his customers first, and then approached the girl.

"Miss, some tea, compliments of the house," he said setting tea on the table. She looked up at him, and lowered her hood.

"Rebecca!" Shaun hissed, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You didn't stop your research," Shaun quickly lost his pity for her in favor of anger, but he didn't want to totally flip out and lose his job

"Shaun," she said shortly, "you don't understand what you're dealing with. Stop looking into Abstergo."

"Why?" Shaun asked. Someone was flagging him down across the café, but he couldn't leave now.

"I can't tell you," she stood up and started to walk away.

"I can't believe I wasted my first love on you," Shaun cried out. The words left his mouth before he could even think them. Rebecca stopped in her tracks. He waited for her to say something, cry, or just turn around. Everyone was silently staring at her. Rebecca pulled up her hood and walked out the door.

He looked at the table that was flagging him down, and absently said, "I'll be with you in a minute."

Lou had already walked out to wait on customers.

"You go back and take a breather, dear," she said sympathetically. Shaun walked back into the kitchen. He continued to mix brownie dough, which was probably what Lou had been doing. He decided right there that he was going to find out every one of Abstergo's secrets, just to spite Rebecca.

Four months later, Abstergo terrified Shaun. Abstergo owned everything: Microsoft, Apple, Oxford, the American Ivy League schools, Reebok, Adidas, and even Breyer's Ice Cream. For some reason, the ice cream company disturbed him the most.

Not only that, but Abstergo was connected with the old Templar society. The Templars had never meant well during the Crusades, and their control of every major company in the world scared Shaun. If they wanted to cripple an industry, they very well could. He had no idea what that kind of power was intended for.

He was now more fervently trying to get his paper published. Some smaller blogs were taking his story, but he noticed that the article would be removed within a day or two. Not only that, but he was starting to receive death threats.

"Shaun," he jumped, nearly dropping a pan of biscotti, "Shaun, dear. Is 'ere somethin' wrong?"

"No, no," said Shaun, "School has just been a bit of an adjustment."

"Do you wan' less hours?" asked Lou.

"No!" the café was one of the few places in town not owned by Abstergo.

Lou gave him a strange look, but didn't push the issue.

He could feel the softness of the shirt he was wearing underneath, the infamous "Mr. Sunshine" tee. It was the last clean shirt Shaun had, but he still wished his didn't have to wear it under his uniform. It just painfully reminded him of Rebecca. She probably worked for Abstergo, and was trying to steer him away from danger. That only made him feel like a giant ass for treating her like shit twice.

Shaun took the dessert out to the customers, "Two lemon tarts," he knew his smile looked forced. The couple just nodded hesitantly, so Shaun walked back behind the counter. He waited at the register for any to-go orders, when he noticed someone sitting in the corner with her hood up.

"Lou, I'm going on break," he called out. He rang up a couple of peanut butter brownies and two coffees. He placed them on his tray as a matter or habit, and walked over to her.

"Rebecca," he said softly. He put the drinks and food of the table, and then leaned the tray on the wall. He pulled out a chair and sat down.

Rebecca had gotten her hair cut again, now even shorter and with more defined layers. She wasn't looking at Shaun, but rather out the window. She looked tired and world-weary.

"Shaun," she finally whispered, still not looking at him, "We can't talk here. Meet me behind this building two weeks from now, at midnight."

"Rebecca, give me a clue what's going on," Shaun whispered back. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. She looked at him, almost looking relieved. He smiled a bit, but she seemed too tired to smile back.

"There is always opposition," she said quietly. She looked away. There was an awkward pause, and she got up to leave. She took the coffee and the peanut butter brownie, looked at Shaun once more, and walked out.

Over the next dozen days, Shaun debated whether or not go. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be in an alleyway at midnight. Besides, he was barely getting enough sleep as is. A trip at midnight could seriously jeopardize his functionality for the rest of the week, even if it would be only one day.

"Mr. Hastings!" his professor snapped Shaun from his thoughts, "I want to see you after class!"

There was a pit in Shaun's stomach. He counted the minutes until class ended, each passing too quickly. When everyone was packing up their things and leaving, he slowly put his things in his bag. He walked to the front of the classroom nervously.

"Mr. Hastings," the history professor started, "what the hell is this?"

Shaun looked at his first draft for his dissertation that he would submit years from now, "My dissertation draft."

"This is Oxford University," the teacher's face was completely red with rage, "not the asylum! You better change your dissertation by the next assignment, or you are going to be thrown out of Oxford."

It hit Shaun like a ton of bricks, "Thrown out?"

"I should throw you out now!" the professor yelled, "Shape up, Mr. Hastings. Shape up quickly."

Shaun's mouth was dry. Oxford University was his _dream_, and to have it so easily taken away...

He had based his paper on the Catholic church's quest to convert pagans to Christianity. All of his facts were straight, his quotes from first person sources, and statistics from reputable places such as Oxford itself. Off the top of his head he knew of a few historians that worked on that very topic. He didn't understand why it wasn't accepted.

In two days, his meeting with Rebecca would come. He was now convinced he needed to see her. He just wanted some answers to something, even if it wasn't the most important thing.

Before he knew it, it was the day of the meeting, a Wednesday night.

"Where are you going?" his roommate asked nonchalantly.

"I'll come in quietly," Shaun replied. The roommate didn't seem to care about the non-answer. Shaun got in his car, rubbing his hands together. It was chilly, but he didn't feel like going back to get a jacket. He was wearing that "Mr. Sunshine" shirt again. He was certain it was cursed at this point, but his laundry habits were preventing him from wearing anything else.

Besides, it was really comfortable.

Shaun went behind the café to nervously wait for Rebecca. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He would promise to join the Templars. Maybe it could keep him in Oxford. He wondered what they would have him do at Abstergo.

He checked his watch that his mother gave him. He usually never wore it, but tonight was a good night to have one. It was only 11:43. He would have to freeze for another fifteen minutes.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard feet crunch on the gravel. He whirled around, nearly losing his balance. It was Rebecca, looking a bit more collected.

"Rebecca," he smiled. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or angry to see her.

"Shaun," she was breathing heavily, as if she had just been running.

Shaun shifted his weight, and folded his arms across his chest for warmth, "So are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"I can't believe you've found out about the Templars, and not the Assassins."

"The Assassins? The Crusaders totally destroyed them way back when."

"No, they didn't. The Templars guard information about the Assassins even more closely than they guard information about themselves."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"The Assassins are hope."

"I believe you mean the hashish industry's hope."

Rebecca snorted, "You believe that propaganda? Why is the world would trained killers do drugs _right before_ going to kill someone?"

"I don't know! I'm not one of them!"

"Well I am."

Shaun blinked. He unfolded his arms and adjusted his glasses.

"I descend from Russian Assassins-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shaun stopped her, "The Assassins were pretty extensive in the Middle East, but Russia? Are you a Cossack maybe? That's not the same thing."

"I am a Cossack, but they _are_ Assassins! They were always fighting the oppression of the monarchy from day one."

"Rebecca, the Cossacks aren't Assassins. You may have descended from an Assassin, but I might have descended from a Viking. That doesn't make me a Viking!"

Rebecca clocked Shaun hard. He stumbled back, clutching his jaw. He didn't dare hit her back, half because he was sure she could hit harder.

"For a genius, you're pretty stupid!" Rebecca yelled; after lowering her voice she continued, "Listen. The Assassins _and _the Templars went underground after the Crusades. The Assassin Brotherhood spread, taking smaller factions into their Brotherhood, like the Cossacks. The Templars want to eliminate the Assassins."

"Why?" Shaun asked, "Too many deaths?"

"No," Rebecca added coldly, "The Templars want to enslave everyone. The Assassins want to prevent that."

Shaun was now rubbing his head, the pain in his jaw equal to that of his racing mind.

"Shaun, you didn't stop your research. They think you're an Assassin or that you're helping the Assassins. That's why they're going to kick you out of Oxford."

Shaun's eyes went wide, "How- how did you know I was going to get kicked out?"

"I've been tailing you," when she saw Shaun's reaction, Rebecca groaned, "Do you think those threats were idle? They want you dead. I've been making sure that doesn't happen."

"How?" Shaun asked meekly, fearing the answer.

Rebecca rolled up the sleeve of her hoodie. There was something strapped to her arm. Before Shaun could examine it closer, she flexed her wrist, and a blade sprung from the device.

"You-" Shaun moved back so he could support himself on the wall behind him. Someone _taking a life_ for his sake… This whole situation was starting to scare him.

Rebecca looked at her feet, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. Shaun took a good minute before he could stand on his own again.

"Join us," she stated starkly.

"M- M- Me? I'm just a wannabe historian!" Shaun protested, "I'm not a killer!"

"We need historians!"

"I'm not even a real historian. I haven't even completed one semester!"

"Shaun, you're a genius! That paper you showed me all those months back was pure gold, and you've only made it better. I only said it was crap in hopes that you would give up."

"I couldn't give up because _you_ _said it was crap_!" Shaun was no longer thinking before speaking, "Rebecca! What am I going to do? Everything I ever wanted is in this life! What do the Assassins have to offer me?"

Rebecca was obviously very hurt.

"I mean, there _is_ you, but you don't even like me the way…" he mind was catching up to his mouth, "… I like you…"

"I bought you that shirt because you're my sunshine. I never meant it as a sarcastic gift," Rebecca stated digging her foot into the gravel. Neither of them spoke for a few moments. They looked at the dumpster, they looked up at the stars, they glanced at each other, but mostly they looked at their feet.

"Can I at least tell my mum good-bye?" Shaun asked.

"Of course," Rebecca was trying to hold back her hopefulness.

"Do the Assassins really need historians?"

"You would be surprised how much of my life is spent decoding the past."

"Will I be with you, or in some dark room on the other side of the world?"

"You'll be with me. I'll make sure of it," Rebecca could no longer hold back her excitement.

"Well, I suppose I should go pack up my things before I get sniped or something," Shaun shrugged. He was going to leave behind his mum, Lou, Dana, Luke, Drake, his roommate, his professor, his job at the café, Oxford, middle-class comfort, a future career, and personal safety.

But he was going to get Rebecca, and in his mind that was all that mattered.


End file.
